Queens of Hapes
by shirleyj-dren
Summary: An alternative world in which Jaina Solo and Tenel Ka Djo are a couple, ruling Hapes together... until a threat comes along. I haven't decided quite how it'll all pan out, so please bear with me! Thank you for your 'followings', reviews, and patience thus far, I will get back to the story when real life is less crazy-busy!
1. Chapter 1

"_I'm not allowed to, Jaina. I'm sorry." _

_ "But…" _

_ "No, Jaina." I drew myself to my full height. I was destined to be a queen, and I would not show my own heartbreak, not even to the one I adored. "We need to go to training soon. Your uncle's expecting us." I looked into the full mirror of the twin room we shared, hurriedly applying make-up to cover the tear streaks and puffiness. It took all my willpower to not look back into those brown eyes, to not change my mind and crawl back into the bunk with her. "Please understand, Jaina," I said, beseechingly. "My family have potential suitors lined up for me already, and I must choose one eventually. I don't want to still be with you in five or ten years' time, and have to break up with you then. It's best to do this now – you must see that." _

_ Jaina did not understand or see, not at all. She continued to stare at the bedroom floor – I could sense the despondency and resentment building up inside her like a Tatooine sandstorm. Then, she stood. _

_ "Please tell my uncle I'm unwell, and won't be at training today." _

_ I sighed. "Jaina, don't be difficult." _

_ "I'll be whatever I damn well feel like being!" Jaina snarled. "A princess you may be everywhere else, but you don't tell me what to do, you heartless little slut." _

_ I could see my carefully composed expression collapse into sadness, but only for a moment. Then, my eyes and jaw set themselves in anger. "Fine, Jaina. I'll deliver your message of ill health to Master Skywalker. I have to go." And with that, I turned on my heel, grabbed up my lightsaber, and left the room with as much dignity as I could manage._

That's the worst memory I have of my youth. Far, far worse than losing my arm, or facing the Shadow Academy, or the deaths of so many of my friends during the Yuuzhan Vong tyranny.

I'm standing before a different mirror now, one far more absurdly opulent than the simple bedroom adornments at the Yavin IV academy. But it's the same pair of dark eyes that watch me moisturise my face and lotion my hands.

"Don't bother with that gunk. You don't need it."

I smile flirtatiously, meeting her eyes in our reflections. "My skin's soft enough already?"

"You know it, Highness." Jaina stands and walks to me, and my heart jumps as her capable hands rest on my shoulders. I take her left hand in my right, laying my cheek against their togetherness.

"Come to bed," she murmurs, her face in my hair, breathing me in. Her free right hand travels to my hip and begins stroking me. She handles me as easily, naturally, and lovingly as she would any spacecraft.

I let her lead me to our large bed. Thank the Force she didn't listen to me, all those years ago. Thank the Force she didn't pull rank and ask her uncle for one of us to be moved immediately from that little twin room, as I spent that day fearing she would. When I'd returned and begun hurriedly undressing for bed, she'd been in the lower bunk, facing the wall, and I could sense her anguish. As I'd begun climbing the little bunk ladder, her hand had reached out and touched my bare foot, beginning to rub it as she's… oh, as she's rubbing them right now.

That day, she'd broken my resolve with no words, just with a touch. She does the same tonight – we don't need to speak, just to kiss and caress and explore. I will never tire of her strong, starfighter pilot's body.

The people of Hapes – my people – turned out to be incredibly welcoming of their Queen's having a female life-partner. Then again, we are a consortium that has always been ruled by women, so the idea of two together, wasn't an issue.

"G'night, Highness," Jaina murmurs, as we spoon. "Long day tomorrow."

"Yes, my love. Goodnight."


	2. Chapter 2

Normally, before all this people – the aides and security staff, journalists and rightly curious Hapan citizens –, I am as composed as I have been brought up to be. As the daughter of the Chief of State, I could never fidget or yawn at formal dinners. As a Jedi apprentice, my uncle drilled lessons of patience and mental strength into me before I could consider myself his peer. As the youngest-ever member of Rogue Squadron, I learned to thrive on those skills, never on sleep or food, of which a starfighter pilot and 'goddess' (that Yun-Harla joke quickly wore thin) can never get enough. And as the consort of Tenel Ka Djo, I have become even more disciplined in my gait, my speech, and my appearance – yes, I even allow the handmaidens to fuss at my hair. The things I put up with, all for Tenel Ka. Is it worth it? Force, yeah.

But even with a lifetime's worth of perfecting politeness and being precise and ceremonious, will inevitably all go to hell when one is awaiting one's family. The _Millennium Falcon_, practically my childhood home after Coruscant and Yavin IV, slides neatly into view, and the ghosts of her controls fill my fists, remembering the pride that coursed through me when my dad first gave teenage me, permission to co-pilot. Behind the Falcon comes my aunt's pride and joy, the _Jade Sabre_. My heart leaps again as the third spacecraft, a polished Jedi StealthX, appears behind the _Sabre_, just ahead of our own security ship. Each of these craft, and the beings aboard them, are wildly dear to me. So, screw protocol.

As the_ Falcon_'s and the_ Sabre_'s respective ramps lower, and the top of the X-Wing pops open, I break from the royal aides and race to my family, whooping loudly with joy. Tenel Ka follows me, making no sound, but just as eager.

I reach my dad first, throwing myself against his bulk and allowing him to squeeze me as hard as he can. "Hey, kiddo," he whispers, stunned but delighted by my flying face-first into him. My mother and younger brother are behind him, grinning stupidly, and I throw myself into them next. I pull Anakin close, letting him know through our sibling-bond that I'm here for him if he needs to talk during his stay. His blue eyes meet my gaze and he nods, just once.

The matching sapphire eyes of my cousin, Ben Skywalker, appear at my side, and I take his hand and squeeze it. Aunt Mara has stayed behind a little to watch for Uncle Luke, as he climbs from his StealthX. I follow her concerned gaze, and wonder why he's moving so carefully – like my mother, he's of course in his fifties now, but decades of intense physical training have ensured he's always been very fit for his age. Has he been badly injured, somehow? Why haven't I been told?

My family all see me searching him, and even my dad – the only one of the bunch who's not a Force-sensitive – seems to read my mind. Tenel Ka's concerns mirror mine in the Force, and we glance at one another. Mother takes my arm.

"It's so wonderful to see you both," she says, in that gentle but rather stern way she has: _we'll discuss it later, privately_. Tenel Ka and I of course knew all along that there was more to my family's visit than just a catch-up, but now I don't know what to think.

Actually, I do know what to think, but the idea is just too painful.

We're all eating on the _Falcon_, to avoid formality, and it reminds me again of my youth. Dad and Uncle Luke dish up – the men in our family are far better cooks than the women –, with my uncle still moving a beat slower than usual. He kisses my forehead as he puts my plate down in front of me, like he always did when I was a child, and I reach up and rub his shoulder; it's just about the only place on his body from which I cannot sense any sort of pain, which worries me to the point of nearly not enjoying my nerf-steak.

I'm sitting between Anakin and Ben, who despite their age gap – Ben is fourteen, Anakin nearly thirty – are very close. They look more like brothers than cousins, with their cognate eyes and slim builds, both so like my uncle. Anakin is quieter than usual, and I know it's to do with his recent heartbreak. He was to marry our childhood friend, Tahiri Veila, but she cancelled their wedding about a month ago and seemed to disappear off the face of the galaxy. Stupid blonde whore, I think angrily; she was doing damn well to have my kid brother, and she shan't ever get a man like him again. Tenel Ka catches my thought, as always, and raises her eyebrows at me while sending a Force caress.

After dinner, we invite my family up into the palace. It was a lengthy process, but we did this week convince our security and our aides to have this afternoon off; I feel even safer with my war-veteran parents and other Jedi relatives than I would do with ten dozen trained Hapan bodyguards, and that's saying something. Ben offers to get tea and caf with Tenel Ka, and she smiles at him. "That'd be very kind, Ben," she says, and they walk to the little private kitchen together, my wife asking he's getting on at the Jedi Academy on Ossus. They leave me with Mother, Dad, Anakin, Uncle Luke, and Aunt Mara, and I cannot contain my fear and concern any longer.

"What have you come to tell us?"

"Jaina," Mother says, "we can wait 'til Tenel Ka- "

"No, we can't. I can't. Tell me what's going on!" The next words from my mouth scare me to my core. "What has Jacen done?"


	3. Chapter 3

I remember Jacen Solo as a serious, gentle boy, who used to sneak injured creatures into his dorm on Yavin IV and nurse them back to health. He was by far the most adept of us, in that first generation of 'younglings' at the Academy, and yet also the one who worried over and questioned his role in the Force. That questioning led him into dangerous situations, the worst being his capture by the Yuuzhan Vong. He was never the same person when he returned to us. At first, we all thought he just seemed more rounded and mature, but it was deeper than that; he was altered, mentally, and their poisonous doctrine appeared to make sense to him.

True, he personally defeated the Vong for good and restored peace to the galaxy, but I've talked with Jaina late into many a night about her fears for his stability, even if it was all ten years ago.

"He's a vengeful person now, T.K., not the kind brother I knew. Anakin and I always fought and teased, but Jacen never did. He's not like that anymore – he's still solemn, but there's a _nastiness_ behind it now." She worried that her parents didn't see it in their oldest son, and worried more that her uncle and aunt, the Skywalkers, did see it but, like us, were unsure of how to deal with it.

I'd always calm her as best as I could with kisses and love-making, but there were some times when I did this and still saw that her beautiful eyes were not focused on me.

One more thing the self-appointed 'Colonel' Jacen Solo can be blamed for.

I smile at Ben Skywalker, who's helping me make tea for everyone. In him, it's easy to see the young man Jacen used to be, though Ben seems sometimes even less sure of himself and therefore very endearing. Right now, his thoughts are clearly troubled. From the living area, I can sense Jaina's growing anger and horror as her family – our family – fill her in on what I can only presume to be the Colonel's latest cruelties upon the galaxy. Hapes is independent from the Galactic Alliance, so my people are not directly affected by Jacen's doings, but they trouble me terribly.

Ben mumbles something, and I look at him. He seems surprised at his own words, and is looking at me almost in terror.

"Ben?" I reach out to him, laying my hand on his shoulder. He flinches, but I don't pull away. "What is it, dear?"

He shakes his head, as if to clear it, then glances back up, a forced smile on his sweet face. "Nothing. Ignore me. I'll…" He gestures at the tea things. "I'll take these through."

"Ben, you can talk to me."

The boy meets my gaze properly for the first time, and he looks so distraught. He doesn't seem to notice Mara arriving at the kitchen doorway, as I do, when he whispers, "It was my fault."

"What was, Ben?"

"Us needing to come here. I told the Council and my dad…"

"Ben." Mara Jade Skywalker has always managed to be both the most subtle and yet the most cogent presence in any room, as long as I have known her. Her son suddenly realises she's there, and runs to her in the way you'd expect a much younger child to do. As if he's just grateful that she's here at all.

Something is terribly wrong.

"Ben, your Uncle Han needs help unloading our things from the _Falcon_. Will you go?"

"Yes, Mother," he says, and kisses her cheek unashamedly before darting back to the living quarters. Mara comes over to me, to collect some of the tea things. She smiles politely, but she's not the best at initiating conversation. So, I speak.

"I truly want a son like yours, one day."

"Like that rascal? Oh, be careful what you wish for," Mara replies, but her maternal pride is obvious. It's odd, to see a woman in Jedi robes quickly and neatly piling biscuits on a tray, but nothing about the Solo-Skywalker clan is particularly normal – I knew that when I got involved, and I can't very well remark on it now.

"What did he mean, Mara? About it all being his fault?"

The friendliness that had briefly appeared on Mara's face fades again. She now just looks sorrowful. "Tenel Ka, my son has seen and known things about this life that he should never have had to, or at least not yet. He reported Jacen to the Jedi Council, and he feels guilty about what happened."

"Why should he? Jacen is threatening everything that you and Luke and Leia and Han fought for. What my generation fought for, too. He shouldn't feel…"

"Like I say, Tenel Ka, he's a child." Mara meets my eyes, shakes her head. "Jacen was working with Lumiya."

"The Lady of the Sith?"

"Yes. Ben found out, and knew that it was his duty to tell the Council. Luke and I went after them, we were so angry – he wanted to instruct Ben in the Dark Side, too. I killed Lumiya…"

"Good."

"… but Luke went to face Jacen. He said it was his fight, though I personally wanted to tear him apart for threatening my son. When you have that son you want, you'll understand."

I can't help asking, gently, "I take it that Jacen was victorious?"

"Tenel Ka, this was weeks ago. I found my husband on Kavan with practically no blood left to bleed out of his body. I…" Mara puts her hand to her mouth, steadying her emotions, and I step forward to clasp her hand. As I embrace her, I see Jaina, my love, at the door, where Mara stood before.

"Tenel Ka, we have to talk. Now."


End file.
